The Marshall County Commission updated its picketing resolution on Wednesday, following protests over the summer in which the Marshall County Democratic Club violated several key provisions.
County Attorney Clint Maze described the changes as minor “tweaks,” clarifying that the resolution mainly pertains to the courthouse grounds during regular hours of operation. He said many of the permit requests were being made for weekends or holidays when the county courthouses are closed.
“The regulations that we had were designed to prevent the crowd size and the noise level from interfering with court operations,” Maze said during Wednesday’s work session. “... We tried to clarify it, where that the limitations in numbers and pop-up tents and different things like that were designed around work hours of the courthouse as opposed to any time.”
Maze said another “major” change to the resolution included removing the 30-person crowd size limit and instead allowing “what can be accommodated safely.”
“Everybody likes freedom of expression until someone is expressing an opinion that you disagree with, and then all of a sudden they want to start counting noses and make sure that everybody who was voicing a contrary opinion to theirs did not exceed the number 30,” Maze said.
In October 2025, over 400 protesters descended on the courthouse steps in Guntersville as part of a “No Kings” protest organized by the Marshall County Democrat Club's chair, Susan McKenny. The group impeded movement on the courthouse sidewalk and disrupted traffic on U.S. Highway 431.
McKenny wrote on her permit application that she expected up to 100 attendees. However, County Commission Chair John Young told her in writing on the application that only 30 would be allowed. Other apparent violations that day included the use of sound amplification, the erection of a tent and picketing too close to the courthouse entrance. McKenny and her group also held a No Kings protest in June 2025 that appeared to have similar violations, though with half the crowd size.
Now, with the updates to the picketing resolutions, none of those violations would apply to the No Kings protests, since they occurred on a Saturday. Maze said a permit would still be required regardless of the day the protest is held, and that it would be up to local law enforcement to handle any issues on the day of.
“The permitting process is still there. [We’re] just loosening up the restrictions for times when it’s not interfering with courthouse operations,” Maze said.
Chairman Young said during the meeting that a protest could sometimes interfere with events held in downtown Guntersville, adding, “You have to be a little forgiving at times.”
Maze responded, “I absolutely love our system of government and our constitutional rights and our democracy. The rights that we independently enjoy and get to participate sometimes does bump into the rights of others to engage in commerce. But the public square is the public square, and that’s the place that you get to voice your opinions. From time to time, I have been inconvenienced by someone exercising their rights, as well. So that’s just part of the cost of living in a wonderful democracy.”
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